Base for portable lamps



April 22 1924. 1,490,978 I W. F. LENT ET AL BASE FOR PORTABLE LAMPSFiled Jan. 16 1923 jnuen/r: mi lerz dlfkarzmbiaez and Fatented Apr. 22,1924.

UNITED STATES 1,490,973 PATENT OFFICE.

WILMAR F. LENT, ANDREW J". GABMICHAEL, AND WALTER C. GREIST, OF NEWHAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIG-NORS TO THE GREIST MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OFNEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

BASE FOR PORTABLE LAMJPS.

Application filed January 16, 1923. Serial No. 612,911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILMAR F. LnN'r, ANDREW J. CARMICHAEL, and WALTERC. Gnnrsr, citizens of the United States of America, residing at NewHaven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Bases for PortableLamps, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in the base portions ofportable lamps.

Heretofore means have been provided to deaden the sound produced bycarelessly placing a lamp upon a table or other article of furniture,and to prevent scratching or marring of the surface of the furniture orother object with which the base of the lamp may come in contact. In onestyle of lampvbase a plurality of rubber bumpers were seated in holes inthe cavity within the base. This construction was defective in that thelamp was unstable upon its base, and when hung from a hook or othersuspension device which engaged a bedstead or similar piece offurniture, the project ing parts of the furniture were liable to come indirect contact with the base shell of the lamp between the bumpers andthereby scratch the furniture.

In order to overcome the above and other objectionable features found incushioning devices for lamp bases, as heretofore emconstruction whereina continuous rubber, or other soft facing is so attached to the base ofthe lamp that all marring of furniture will be prevented, and also thesupporting point of such cushioning means is located at such a .pointnear the edge of the base of the lamp that the stability of the latteris completely maintained.

With the stated objects in view, the invention comprehends as animportant feature a supporting ring of rubber or other soft yieldingmaterial which extends about the periphery of the frame weight of a lampbase and slightly below and beyond the edge of said weight, and issecured be tween such edge and the sheet metal shell of the base withinwhich the weight is enclosed. Preferably, the sheet metal shell has itsouter edge portion slightly inwardbase.

ployed, the present invention provides a' ly bent or rolled in the formof a curved bead which acts to hold the cushioning ring to the outeredge of the weight. By such arrangement of the cushioning ring acontinuous rubber facing is presented and the weight of the base issustained upon the cushioning ring, while the latter is held in positionwithout being supporteddirectly from the base shell.

The novel features of the invention will be better understood from thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. 1 represents a portable lamp, in side elevation, the basebeing in vertical section;

Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the base;

Fig. 3 shows the base in side elevation with one of the supporting hooksin position over the rail of a bedstead, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, detail sectional view.

Referring to Fig. 1, the lamp comprises the usual shade 1 whichissupported from the globe 2 having suitable connection with the socket 3,which latter has a hinge connection 4 with lugs 5 upstanding from theThe base of the lamp comprises a main frame member or weight 6-,preferably of cast metal and having a central space 8 within which maybe housed lamp suspending devices, such as a hook 9 which is pivoted at10 to the weight 8, and a tab 12, which is pivoted to the weight 8 at13. The hook and tab are arranged to be foldedv within the lamp base andto occupy the space 8 in the weight as shown, when not in use.

If it is desired to suspend the lamp from a rail, such as 14:, of abedstead or other horizontal support of similar character, the hook isswung outwardlyand passed over said rail, the base of the lamp thenoccupying a substantially horizontal position as shown in Fig. 3.

On the other hand, if it is desired to support the lamp in a horizontalposition from a nail, or similar projection from the wall of a room, thetab 12 is turned outwardly from its position within the base, and thekey-hole slot 15 in such tab is passed over the nail or projection.

The weight or frame 6 of the lampr is surrounded by a sheet metal shell16. he

lower outside edge 18 of the weight 6 is sustained upon a cushioningring 20, which is of spring metal 22 covered by india rubber or othersuitable material, and said ring is held firmly in engagement with theouter peripheral edge 18 by the lower edge portion 21 of the shell 16,which, as shown best in Fig. 4, is bent, by spinning or otherwise, thering being held in the recess be tween the weight and the edge 21 by thetension of the spring metal. It will be seen that by this constructionthe cushion is so located as to bring the supporting point at the outeredge of the weight and near the extreme outer edge of the base of thelamp, as an entirety. A continuous cushioning facing is thus presented.to prevent the marring of furniture, the stability of the lamp ismaintained, and the cushioning ring is held in. position between theshell and weight in such manner that no portion of the weight of thelamp is sustained through the thin metal shell. By reason of the greaterweight of the lamp of the type herein described, as compared with thatof some other portable lamps, it would not be feasible to support thecushioning ring from the base shell directly as this would result in adistortion of the shell. It will accordingly be seen. that theparticular location of the ring 20 contemplated, by the presentinvention is especially advantageous in a lamp inwhich the base portionis made up of an interior frame of substantial weight for the purpose ofstabilizing the lamp on a support, in combination with an external sheetmetal shell.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A lamp base comprising, in combination, a weight constituting aframe, an enclosing shell, and a cushioning ring located beneath saidweight so as to sustain the same, and held between the edge of saidshell and said weight.

2. In a base for portable lamps, the com-V bination of an internalweight or frame having an outstanding edge, a cushioning ring locatedbelow said edge in position to sustain said weight, and a sheet metalshell enclosing said weight and having its lower edge portion inengagement with said ring and arranged to hold said ring against theouter edge of said weight.

3. In a base for portable lamps, the combination of a weight having adownwardly extending outwardly flared edge, a cushioning ring locatedbelow and in engagement with said edge, and an enclosing shell for saidweight having its lower edge portion rolled against said ring andmaintaining, the same in engagement with the edge ofsaid weight, saidring presenting a cushioning surface below the lamp base and being solocated that none of the weight of the lamp is sustained by said shell.

4. A lamp base having in combination a weight constituting a frame, anenclosing shell, the lower outer edge of said frame and shell shaped toform an annular recess, and a ring comprising a spring metal core and acovering of cushioning material adapted to be sprung into said recess.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 6th day ofDecember i A. D. 1922.

VVILMAR F. LENT. ANDRE-IV J. CARMICHAEL. IVALTER G. GREIST. lVitness asto WV. F. Lent:

FRANK E. LAYMAN. IVitness as to A. J. Carmichael:

ANNA M. CYLKowsKL lVitness as to W. C. Greist:

FRANons E. Murrow.

